On Wednesday, Gov. Steve Bullock called a special election to take place on May 25 to fill Montana’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives vacated by Ryan Zinke.

Zinke was confirmed this week by the U.S. Senate as President Donald Trump’s new Interior Department secretary.

Zinke has refrained from participating in dozens of House votes since his cabinet nomination, leaving Montana without representation for most of 2017.

So far, seven Republicans and eight Democrats have filed for candidacy seeking the respective party nominations. The Democratic Party will hold a special nominating convention on March 5.

Ohio state Rep. Greta Johnson announced her resignation this morning, effective at the end of the month.

She is stepping down to take a position as deputy law director for Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro.

Johnson was elected in 2014 to represent District 35. Prior to serving in the Legislature, she served as a prosecutor in Mahoning County and Summit County, as well as with the city of Akron.

The House Democratic Caucus will soon announce the process for selecting her replacement.

On February 28, the House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 131 to ban elected officers and other officials from lobbying during a period of two years after termination of service in the state government. The bill now goes to Gov. Dennis Daugaard for consideration.

Senate Bill 131 is one of the pieces of legislation that was introduced by lawmakers to placate citizen outrage after lawmakers repealed Initiated Measure 22, the voter approved measure to overhaul ethics and campaign finance laws.

The state Appellate Division recently upheld two state agency decisions related to contractor pay-to-play violations.

Della Pello Paving, Inc. lost two contracts totaling roughly $7 million and was barred from contracting with the state for the remainder of Gov. Chris Christie’s second term because it made a $500 contribution to Somerset County Republican Organization.

State pay-to-play laws prohibit a contractor from receiving a contract exceeding $17,500 if it contributed more than $300 during the previous 18 months to a county political party committee.

Della Pello Paving challenged the state agency decisions claiming the contribution was intended for Sheriff Frank Provenzano’s campaign and not for the county political committee. The inadvertent contribution needed to be returned within 30 days to avoid a pay-to-play violation. Della Pello did not request and receive reimbursement until more than a year after making the donation; moreover, Provenzano was not running for re-election the year the contribution was made.

Following the decision of the appellate court, Della Pello’s attorney sought emergency review by the state Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear the case.

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned the 2017 regular session sine die on Saturday, February 25.

A major focus of the short session was the commonwealth’s biennial budget and several bills supporting second amendment rights received strong support from both sides of the aisle.

A reconvened session is scheduled for April 5, 2017, for lawmakers to consider bills and recommendations returned to them by the governor.

The Ohio Secretary of State Campaign Finance Division recently released revised contribution limits. The new limits are effective February 25, 2017, through February 24, 2019.

Among the changes, the limit individuals, political action committees (PACs), and political contributing entities (PCEs) may give to statewide or state legislative candidates increased from $12,532.34 per election period to $12,707.79 per election period.

The secretary of state adjusts statutory contribution limits in each odd-numbered year based on the Consumer Price Index. 

On February 27, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed House Bill 2001 requiring companies and consultants with state contracts to disclose the names of those who have at least a 25 percent financial interest in the contract.

Under the bill, business entities performing the work, such as lawyers, brokers and advisors, must also be disclosed to the Ethics Commission. The bill also includes provisions to expressly prohibit nepotism. House Bill 2001 unanimously passed the House and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

A bill creating an independent ethics commission is advancing through the New Mexico legislature.

House Joint Resolution 8 (HJR 8) seeks to amend the state constitution and establish a state ethics commission. The ethics commission would oversee complaints against public officials, both in the legislative and executive branches, as well as lobbyist and government contractors.

If passed, the proposed amendment would be placed on the 2018 general election ballot for voter approval.

HJR 8 unanimously passed the House Local Government, Elections, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee and will be heard by the House Judiciary Committee next.

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned a special legislative session on Wednesday, February 22, after approving a deal to close the state’s $304 million budget deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Lawmakers agreed to use $99 million from the state’s rainy day fund, combined with shuffling allocated money and spending cuts across the Department of Education, State Police, and local offices offering mental health and addiction treatment.

Gov. John Bel Edwards stated budget stabilization will be a focus in the coming session. Louisiana’s 2017 regular legislative session is scheduled to convene April 10.

This month, the Austin City Council unanimously voted to exempt City Council and their staff from being subject to punishment for interference with personnel matters with a clause in the city charter aimed at preventing elected officials from pressuring city staff to go against their professional and unbiased judgment in making official decisions.

This vote came one year after City Council asked for amendments to the city code to give the City’s Ethics Review Commission authority over the interference clause which were unanimously approved in November 2016.

Under the new ordinance approved this month, allegations of City Council ethics violations will go to the Auditor and Ethics Review Commission and any issues arising under the City Charter Clause will be decided by the Council and City Manager.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin scheduled a special election to fill the upcoming vacancy in House District 75. Rep. Dan Kirby will voluntarily vacate the seat on March 1.

Kirby’s resignation allows him to avoid a potentially embarrassing floor vote to remove him from the legislative body amid sexual harassment allegations.

House Speaker Charles McCall had previously suspended Kirby from his chairmanship of the Business, Commerce, and Tourism Committee pending further investigation of the allegations. Kirby denies any wrongdoing.

A special primary election will be held May 9 with a special general election on July 11. If a special primary is not necessary, the May 9 election will be considered the special general election.

State Rep. Brian Banks resigned as part of a plea deal related to charges involving fraudulent pay stubs.

To fill the vacancy, Gov. Rick Snyder announced a special election to fill the First House District seat.

The special primary will be held on August 8, 2017, and the special general election will be held on November 7, 2017.

The special election coincides with the regular election to save taxpayers money.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a U.S District Court’s decision to issue a preliminary injunction against provisions of Senate Bill 571, which enables corporations to deduct PAC contributions from employees’ paychecks while prohibiting labor unions from doing the same.

Ultimately, Sixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton relied on similar cases stating “absent a burden on a constitutionally cognizable right, the government may regulate what is at best a speech-facilitating mechanism.” Michigan State AFL-CIO v. Schuette, No. 16-2100, at *8 (6th Cir., Feb. 9, 2017).

Thursday, February 23, is South Dakota’s crossover day, which is the final day for lawmakers to pass bills out of their chamber of origin.

Ahead of the deadline, lawmakers are set to consider campaign finance and ethics bills that were proposed in the wake of the repeal of Initiated Measure 22.

A bill to create a state government accountability board is scheduled to be heard by the House on Wednesday, February 22, and another bill to increase the revolving door restriction to three years was scheduled to be heard by the House on Tuesday, February 21.